I'm still on 1.11 as well. Try each card twice in a row. Oddly that worked for me with the cards I'm using. It'll attempt and fail the first time and succeed the second. It's a repeatable pattern for me.

I tried that and then it said media needs to be restored. I'm trying a long format right now with the Panasonic SDFormater. I called Sony today about the firmware update and they said it was not necessary to update in succession if you were at version 1.11. They gave me an FTP site address to download the update, but it required a password and ID, so I will have to call them back for that. Thanks.

Formatting twice in a row and you got that message on the second attempt? I don't remember the wording I got but it was a fail on the first attempt and worked on the second. Even on the fail I don't think I got a message about "media needs to be restored." That sounds like a message one gets on a recording not formatting.

Yep. That's what it does. It says needs to be formatted and when I hit it it tries to do it and then says needs to be restored. The long format I did didn't help. The guys at e-film says it should work, so I am assuming it's the firmware version?? The cards I'm trying are Sandisk Extreme HD Video 32gb sdhc class 10. I am going to wait until my next two shoots are over and then I might try the update to 1.20.

FWIW, Sony says they will do the update for $270 with 8 day turn around. Macie Video will do it for $165, not sure about the turn around. Macie Video Service- 781-326-3135. camcorderrepair.com says they will do it for $125.00.

That's a good point. They all say they warranty the repairs for a certain time period. I wonder what they would charge to fix a locked up unit... BTW, e-films says you should format SDHC in slot B. They say their adapters work with class 10 and v. 1.2 firmware.

I asked one shop what happens if the camera doesn't update properly and requires an expensive repair. This is his answer, which is not really a direct answer:

"We did update many of the pmw-ex1, we never had a problem, we are using highest sony equipment and sony factory trained tech." "Sony pmw-ex1: We charge $125.00 for firmware update
Our estimates include parts, labor and cleaning the unit inside and out as well as re-calibrating and re-aligning it to factory specifications. Free ground return shipping to the continental United States."

One other possibility why the cards won't format. The Sandisk cards I bought say UHS-I. That may be the issue. I just purchased a new extreme MxR adapter (don't have it yet). http://e-films.com.au/shoppingcart/products/MxR-Extreme-Expresscard-Adapter... It will work with UHS-I cards, plus it will over and under crank. I think I will still need the firmware update. Have to find a place that can turn it around quickly. If anybody knows of one they have used please pass it along.

Well, I just received the MxR Extreme adapter and all I can say is WOW!
My 32 GB Sandisk SDHC UHS-1 class 10 card formatted in about three seconds and so far, tests have been great. Several minutes of over cranking multiple times without any errors. Record light goes green in about 2.5 sec. I will be doing more tests. So far, so good!